Whether the Celtics’ faithful were ready or not, whether they wanted to see Paul Pierce retire a Celtic, or Kevin Garnett vigorously motion to the TD Garden crowd, or see the Big Three make one more championship run, they won’t.
The Big Three era is over, crashing down to rubble on a warm summer night in Boston, when president of basketball operations Danny Ainge completed the biggest deal of his tenure.
Realizing the pressure to win disappeared with the departure of coach Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers, Ainge took mere hours to go to work on a rebuilding plan, trading Pierce, Garnett, and Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night.
For those who wished for Ainge to move forward with younger players, that process has begun in earnest. Full story for BostonGlobe.com subscribers.
Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @gwashNBAGlobe
